Conservation: Our responsibility

Why the need to conserve:

--Deforestation from 1819 picture of Singapore with 82% land mass in primary forest and 13% in mangroves to a990 numbers of 0.5% mangroves and 0.2 % primary forest.

--74% of SE Asia is expected to be deforested by 2010.


--60% of Singapore's coral reefs are lost and 30% are degraded


--Mangroves in 1990 totaled 2700 hectares/ now 500 ha


--Bukit Timah (forest) is falling apart in front of our eyes—victim of acid rain and loss of species that help re-seed native flora (Bukit Timah has more species of palms than all of Africa) and rare fauna within the area have disappeared






My previous blog posts have covered my experiences at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Pasir Ris mangroves. The blog posts have covered the numerous benefits that these ecosystems provide to us and why we should conserve them.



Singaporeans may have heard of the natural heritage treasures, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Sungai Buloh Wetland Reserve. But ask Singaporeans about coral reefs, it would be unlikely that they would be familiar.


Now this video would show you of the beauties of the coral reefs and their benefit to men.



Protect the living reef: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XZwslWYJPU


And to add on to that, here are some interesting news articles that show that coral reefs are cheaper to protect than neglect.

http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20060102/060124-4.htm


Here are some points from the articles:

The value of coral reefs is estimated at between US$100,000 to US$600,000 per square kilometer a year.


The estimated costs of protecting them, through the management costs of a marine protected area, is just US$775 square kilometers per annum.






Here are some organisations that strive to conserve Singapore's natural biodiversity and heritage.

Blue Water Volunteers (BWV) is a volunteer-based, marine conservation NGO that seeks to complement research activities and increase awareness of local marine habitats, such as coral reefs. They strive to achieve the aims for conservation, awareness and education through fourmain programmes: ReefFriends, ReefWalk, ReefTalk and ReefExhibits.


http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/



You can go check up the website if you're interested in getting up close and learning more about Singapore's coral reefs. Hurry before all the coral reefs are gone!



You can also help to save the environment by simply just simply offering your service to help clean up the places. Here are some websites to check out for clean up activities:



Coastal cleanuphttp://coastalcleanup.nus.edu.sg/organiserspage.html



Mangrove cleanup: http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/


If you have time to spare, bored of staying at home or if you are a nature lover or looking for forms of enriching recreational activities, be sure to check out this website:





Updates for environmental activities: http://www.wildsingapore.com/





Remember, Singapore is blessed with a rich biodiversity and natural heritage. It falls on us whether we want it to stay to be enjoyed by all. These organisations and websites are there for us to turn to when we want to do our part for nature and nonetheless to appreciate it.








The simplest thing we can all do is to help spread the message.

And dont litter. =D